Investors to Palm Oil Producers: “Stick to RSPO principles”

A coalition of signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which manage more than US$2 trillion, have called for palm oil companies to adhere to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria.

Several members of the PRI’s Sustainable Palm Oil Investor Working Group, who include APG, Arisaig Partners, Aviva Investors, Christian Super, First State Investments, Generation Investment Management, Hermes Equity Ownership Services, PGGM, MN, and Trillium Asset Management, expect all palm oil companies to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, become members of the RSPO and adopt a time-bound plan to certify all their plantations.

In this next phase of its engagement, the Working Group will write to plantation owners, refiners, traders, processors, buyers and others in the palm oil supply chain to encourage them to take responsibility and ensure their supply chains are not contributing to this problem.

As an immediate response to the forest fires, it calls on all companies involved in the palm oil value chain to:

Become members of the RSPO and comply with the RSPO standard

Submit digital maps for existing plantations within their license areas as requested by RSPO

The Working Group will continue to engage the relevant companies in their portfolios, asking for clear commitments and transparency on implementation of the RSPO standard.